Here the stones are loose in place with the neck piece attached.  It is tabbed into the ends of the centerpiece and soldered. I hammered it out of 10 gauge sterling wire. 

What I have spent the afternoon doing is forming the prongs using a needle file and foredom bit.  The first step was fine tuning the seat of the stone, ensuring it lies flat, nearly flush with the gold.  Next, the prongs are trimmed to a dimension facilitating pushing over onto the stone. The inner surface of the prong needs to be undercut a bit to allow the prong to fold over on the top surface of the stone, not pushing onto the corner.

The first set of prongs and seat took me so long I thought I might have this done by Christmas.  Luckily, I eventually figured out how to speed up the process and the rest went much quicker.  Part of it was knowing what to be looking for. 

At this point I have the seats and prongs pretty much set.  A final sanding and buff with the star wheels and it's time to set the stones. 

Good to hear that Prof. Nahabetian may be on her way back.  Missy Crowell has done great keeping us on track and we have enjoyed having her in class, but we do miss our Frau N.